Family remembers Milton Higgs, Bay City attorney who helped write Michigan Constitution and found Delta College

BAY CITY, MI — Bay County’s legal community lost a valued member this week, one whose influence has been felt across the state whose Constitution he helped to write.

Milton E. Higgs, 86, died Wednesday of natural causes. A graduate of Bay City Central High School, Higgs enlisted in the U.S. Maritime Service during World War II, serving in both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Upon returning to the states, Higgs followed in the paths of his father and older brothers in pursuing a career in law.

He graduated from the University of Michigan Law School in 1952 and thereafter launched a career in law that would last 55 years. After graduation, his first job was working as a law clerk for Michigan Supreme Court Justice Edward M. Sharpe.

In 1962, Higgs was one of two Bay County attorneys chosen to appear as delegates in the writing of the state’s Constitution.

“That was a big deal in those days,” said Geraldine Higgs, his wife of 60 years, adding that stood as one of his proudest accomplishments. “Dwight Eisenhower came to the convention, and Milt was one of the ones who was able to ask him a direct question, though I don’t remember what the question was.”

View full sizeMilton E. Higgs speaking in the 1962 state Constitutional Convention

Higgs was a champion of higher education and making it accessible to people of Bay City, Saginaw and Midland.

“He was one of the committee of 300 for Delta College, which were the founders, the people who went out and sold the idea of a college to the three communities,” Geraldine Higgs said. “The Tri-City area really was short of a higher-level education of any kind. There was like three colleges, and if you couldn’t afford to go there, you couldn’t go anywhere. He was very proud of Delta College.”

The day Milt Higgs appeared before the state constitutional convention was the day Delta College opened. Higgs also was an avid supporter and promoter of the Alice & Jack Wirt Public Library, 500 Center in Bay City.

“What I’ll remember most about him was that Dad raised my sister and I to be very strong women,” added his daughter, Heidi Willson. “It was always not, ‘Are you going to college?’ but, ‘Which college are you going to?’ I didn’t even know it was a choice. He always said, ‘Education is something no one can ever take away from you.’”

Willson attended Delta College, a source of pride for her father.

View full sizeJay Higgs, Geraldine Higgs and Heidi Willson hold a photo of Milton Higgs, appearing with former Michigan Gov. George Romney

Outside his profession, Milt Higgs’ was passionate about flying, having taken it up around 1980 with private lessons at James Clements Airport in Bay City. His wife later took up flying as well.

“If I was going to be up in that airplane, I was going to need to know how to fly it,” she said with a laugh.

The couple owned a Piper Arrow plane they would fly to Montreal, San Antonio and Florida, excursions Geraldine Higgs counts as among her favorite memories of her husband.

“One time, we came back into Toronto in a hailstorm, which was pretty exciting,” she recalled. “We were on our way back from Montreal, and we were stopping at Toronto, and there was a thunderstorm came up and hail. We were lucky to get on the ground.”

Higgs was also an avid trout fisherman.

“He taught all his children and sons-in-law and everybody how to fish and got them interested in both fishing on the lake and in the streams,” his wife said.

Higgs’ son, Jay Higgs, now a doctor in San Antonio, said his father was a compassionate attorney and father.

“He was an incredibly thoughtful lawyer to his clients,” Jay Higgs said.

Jay Higgs said he once called home to speak with his dad, only to find out his father was at a client’s home, helping her screw in a lightbulb.

“That’s the kind of guy he was,” Jay Higgs said. “It wasn’t just a job; it was a mission.

“He was a really caring dad and wanted the best for his kids,” he continued. “He made sure we all had an education and were self-sufficient.”

Higgs is also survived by another daughter, Holly L. Gatza, and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Higgs is to be cremated and interred in the Veterans Section of Elm Lawn Cemetery, 300 Ridge Road. Visitation is scheduled for 3 p.m. Monday at Penzien-Steele Funeral Home, 608 N. Madison Ave., with a memorial service at 6 p.m.